Convinced that more time is needed to effectively develop a plan to implement ferry tolls across the entire state ferry system, members of the North Carolina Board of Transportation voted unanimously Oct. 8 to ask the General Assembly to extend the deadline beyond Jan. 1, 2027.
Joy Crist, editor of Island Free Press based in Hatteras, reported that while meeting at the Hickory Metro Convention Center & Visitors Bureau in Hickory, Board of Transportation member Mike Fox, an attorney in Greensboro, introduced a motion to request a legislative delay.
He
commended the fine work completed thus far by personnel associated with the
Ferry Division of the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), Crist
said, but Fox also noted the division was operating “under an unusually tight
deadline” and needed more time to develop “an effective and sustainable tolling
system.”
“One of my biggest concerns is…we don’t have enough time to really do this right and do it thoroughly,” Fox was quoted as saying.
“I would strongly encourage this board to ask the staff to go back to the legislature and ask for some more time. I just think this is a this is ‘too rushed a job.’ You have done everything you can do, but it’s just too short a time period to do something like this.”
Crist reported that “Fox initially proposed asking the legislature for a delay until at least April 1.”
Following discussion, he amended the motion to have the board adopt a resolution requesting an unspecified amount of additional time to study and implement the tolling system.
The motion was seconded by Vice Chair Lisa Mathis, a small business owner and an artist in Sanford. The motion passed without opposition, Crist said.
Much of the meeting dealt with the ferry tolls issue, and Ferry Division Director Jed Dixon unveiled the proposed fee structure for the four ferry routes that are presently free.
The proposed basic one-way charge for a single normal-sized
vehicle is $7 on the Aurora-Bayview, Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach and
Currituck-Knotts Island ferry runs.
However, the proposed basic rate on the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry is $10 per trip. The reason why is unclear.
(Rates on the three currently tolled vehicle routes – Cedar Island-Ocracoke, Swan Quarter-Ocracoke and Southport-Fort Fisher – would remain unchanged on Jan. 1 under the proposal.)
Board member Tess Judge of Kitty Hawk, who has an extensive background in hospitality management, emphasized that the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry is not simply a transportation convenience but an essential highway for island residents, Crist said.
“Ocracoke
has no other way. The waterway is the highway for the citizens who live in
Ocracoke,” Judge said.
She raised concerns about needing to address the priority boarding arrangements for Ocracoke-Hatteras locals who “depend on the ferry to reach medical appointments on the Outer Banks, particularly during the busy summer months when vehicle lines can stretch for hours. Without priority boarding,” Judge said, “residents could miss essential appointments or be forced to travel the night before.”
Judge is urging North Carolina lawmakers to consider the unique circumstances facing Ocracoke before the new tolling system takes effect, Crist reported.
“It is about sustaining their everyday life as they live on Ocracoke Island,” Judge said.
NCDOT
is now accepting public comments on the ferry fees and rate structure, continuing
through Oct. 23, to allow residents to review the recommended rates and provide
feedback before the Board of Transportation’s next scheduled meeting on Nov. 5.
Comments can be submitted online at publicinput.com/ferry-tolling, by email at ferry-tolling@publicinput.com or by calling (984) 205-6615 and referencing project code 10744.
Access Dixon’s full presentation at ncdot.gov/news.
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